Pillow Sister
by TagTheScullion
Summary: Annabeth Chase is a strong independent big girl who needs no big sisters to cuddle with when she goes to sleep. But, you know, once in a while a hug doesn't hurt. Sibling fluff, no slash. Luke cameo because I love pre-Kronos Luke.


**Hello people, how do you do?**

 **I wrote this at like, 2.30 in the morning, because going to sleep means I must get up tomorrow to study, which I really don't want to do.**

 **I go the idea of this fic mostly because I love Thalia as a character, and I wished Uncle Rick had showed us a bit more of her and Annabeth's relationship. They were like sisters at some point, and I hope they remained that way. I really believe they did, Annabeth at some point in TTC mentions she's glad because "Thalia's back", and then Thalia gets all worried about rescuing her. Plus in TLO when she finds out Annabeth was hurt, she immediately goes to check on her and asks Percy what had happened, but if I keep fangirling, this would never end.**

 **I had lots of sibling feels, and I wrote some family fluff to share. I hope you enjoy it!**

 **PJO belongs to Uncle Rick.**

* * *

Annabeth giggled.

"I thought big girls didn't giggle?" Luke asked hiding his smile behind a pillar of their pillow fort. "Or are princesses the exception?"

Annabeth scoffed but didn't correct him. She would have hated for Thalia and Luke to know, but she loved it when they called her 'princess'. It made her feel part of their team, of their tiny family.

"I don't think I'm the princess this time!" she nodded toward a cushioned corner.

Thalia was fast asleep, arms and legs stretched and taking up much more space than both Annabeth and Luke combined.

"I don't think the almighty daughter of Zeus appreciates being called a princess," Luke guessed.

"Damn right," mumbled Thalia's sleepy voice. "I'm a freaking queen."

That threw Annabeth into another fit of giggles.

"I guess every pillow fort needs royalty," Luke shrugged. "That makes me, I don't know…"

"A royal pet?" suggested Annabeth.

Luke raised an eyebrow and threw himself at Annabeth. He bear hugged her and grabbed one of her feet.

Annabeth's eyes widened… no tickles.

"A royal pet?" he gasped, feigning offense. He tickled her foot lightly. "I want a higher title."

Annabeth tried to hold her laugh, but tickles were definitely her biggest flaw. She let out a chuckle.

"No," she replied.

He tickled her foot again.

"Yes!"

She shook her head in between laughs.

"All right," she wheezed. "You can be a prince, too!"

"Ah, so you _are_ the princess, then?"

"Well if Thalia doesn't mind being a queen, I don't mind being a princess," she decided.

Luke grinned just as a pillow hit him square in the face.

Annabeth looked perplexedly to the side.

"As your reigning monarch, I say we all go to sleep," Thalia ordered with a smirk which took all seriousness away. "The queen is tired, and she wants her royal highness Annie to come cuddle with her."

"Aw, how come _you_ get a teddy bear and not I?" Luke asked, throwing the pillow back at its owner.

"Because I'm the queen. Now stop complaining, Lukey-boy."

Luke rolled his eyes with a small smile and nodded at Annabeth to go ahead.

"It's getting late anyway," he admitted. "And tomorrow we've got to wake up early."

With a last grin towards Luke she went to Thalia's side.

Annabeth felt the older girl's tranquil breath on her head, and she nestled deeper into her arms.

She wanted to be a big girl, who needed no one or nothing to sleep properly at night, but she felt so much warmer, and so much more protected when she was curled up next to Thalia or Luke. She sometimes wished she could stay seven years old, so that she could still be their little princess and teddy bear forever.

* * *

Annabeth woke up to one of her siblings' loud snores. She cursed under her breath. Dreaming about her times on the run left a bittersweet taste in her mind.

It had been that way since she had arrived at camp and lost Thalia. And it had been unbearable the past year, after she'd lost Luke, too.

She grinned when she remembered she had Thalia back again. The feeling of not being alone, as she had felt the past twelve months, filled her with bliss, and comfort, and relief.

She got up quietly, making sure of not disturbing his siblings' sleep –unlike her snoring little brother who had taken no such precautions-, and walked to the door of her cabin.

She knew she shouldn't purposely wake up Thalia. She knew the older girl hadn't stopped loving her like the little sister she never had, but Chiron had warned Annabeth that Thalia needed rest. Being a tree for seven years hadn't been easy physically nor emotionally for the daughter of Zeus.

She thought, _screw it_. She hadn't been able to speak to her for seven years. She wanted to talk to her older sister and she _would_.

Her courage wavered slightly when she opened the door to Cabin One and had Zeus' statue stare at her judgmentally.

"Don't worry, the statue is there purely for dramatic effect. My dad wouldn't be such a stalker as to see _through_ it, I hope."

Annabeth beamed.

"C'me here, kiddo," Thalia said, opening her arms.

Annabeth smashed into her.

"You couldn't sleep?" Thalia asked, running her hands through Annabeth's hair.

"It wasn't that. I just wanted…" her voice faded. She really wasn't sure how to explain.

The daughter of Zeus shook her head with a smirk, "I was starting to miss my teddy bear, too."

As Annabeth closed her eyes, she thought that, twelve might be more than seven, but she still wasn't old enough to stop being her older sister's pillow. Plus, Thalia's hugs were the _best_ , and she felt so much safer, and so much more peaceful when she was curled up next to her.

* * *

Annabeth's summer had been absolutely terrible. And she had thought this would be the year she could rest for once. How naïve.

She had crawled through Tartarus only to come out alive and have nightmares about it forever, it seemed. She wanted _one night's_ good sleep. Was it so much to ask?

She knew curfew was to be taken relatively seriously at camp, she wanted fresh air, though, and she thought Chiron would have to forgive her for that.

As she walked around the cabins, Cabin Eight drew her attention. Just as Cabin Seven reflected the sun during the day, its twin mirrored the action with the light of the moon.

And to think she had once thought of joining the hunters… Now the cabin was empty, except for one.

She walked towards it and knocked on the door. After a minute –and three or four more knocks on Annabeth's side-, Thalia opened the door looking disgruntled.

Her eyes brightened when she saw who the unexpected visitor was.

"C'me in, kiddo," she said. "You don't have to knock."

Annabeth sat next to Thalia and told her about her dream. And about Tartarus. And about how she just wanted a summer off. And about how she didn't know how to pretend everything was okay during the school year this time. And about how she still missed Luke sometimes. And about everything that bothered her.

She didn't know when she started crying, but she was aware of Thalia's arms around her, and her words of comfort.

Eventually, Annabeth's energy ran out. Free of her burdens, sleep wanted to claim her once and for all.

She asked Thalia if she could stay there for the night. The older girl tightened her arms around Annabeth.

"I'm never letting go, silly," the daughter of Zeus promised. "I chose immortality just so I could nag you until the end of times."

Annabeth knew she was now a big girl, who needed no one or nothing to sleep properly at night, but she felt so much calmer, and so much more untroubled when she was curled up next to Thalia. She had at some point wished she could stay a little girl for years to come, so that she could still be a teddy bear, but now she knew she could grow up a hundred more years, and her older sister would still be there for her, forever.

* * *

 **I couldn't help but add some Luke in there, too. I love pre-Kronos Luke.**

 **Hope you liked it!**


End file.
